The Term Is ‘Commandeered’

The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.

The Term Is ‘Commandeered’“Cops Chase Man With Stolen Car”–headline, Stamford (Conn.) Advocate, April 18

News of the Tautological“There Is Plenty of Water Behind Wawa Dam”–headline, Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 21

Plus Ça ChangeThe Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne visits New York, where he interviews the new mayor, Bill de Blasio:

De Blasio offers no apologies for waging war on economic inequality, for taking his time in making key appointments, or for riling advocates of charter schools. He’ll concede errors of presentation, pointing out that he renewed a substantial majority of charter school arrangements even as his opponents grabbed national attention by casting him as an enemy to them all. His biggest mistake, he said, was in underestimating the “extraordinary level of opposition to change.”

Given that his attack on charter schools is a defense of the public-school status quo, a little introspection should have been sufficient to reveal the “extraordinary level of opposition to change.”

Safety Can Be Dangerous“Maryland health officials are investigating possible cases of food poisoning at . . . a gathering of government and industry leaders attending a national Food Safety Summit,” NBC News reports:

At least four people called the Baltimore City Health Department this week to report that they developed diarrhea, nausea and other symptoms about 12 hours after eating a meal April 9 during the conference at the Baltimore Convention Center.

To make matters worse, Bill Marler, “a Seattle food safety lawyer”–who knew such a specialty existed?–“posted online a survey sent to him and other conference speakers and attendees asking them to report what they ate and how they felt after the meeting.” That “actually disrupted the data collection for the investigation,” the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene tells the network.

For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”